Customer Reviews

Time Out Guide to Tokyo, 3rd Edition

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I am usually less than impressed with Time Out - too concerned about being cool and hip; ocassionally preaching, sometimes overloaded with opinion.

This is not the case with Tokyo. Yes, the guide sometimes slips into over-casual tone of oh-so-self-aware urban cool, which can be annoying, but overall this is a major success.

I would say Time Out covers Tokyo better than Rough Guide Japan, by far the best guide to the country (where places OTHER than Tokyo are covered very well, and Hokkaido is just outstanding, but Tokyo chapter lacks punch and inspiration).

Eyewitness and Fodors, although more than adequate, are clearly behind on this front; Lonely Planet is just about OK, which is more than can be said about many of the LP guides.

Back to Time Out. I would say that maps could be better and some of the practicalities are sketchy, but overall description of the city, area by area, and why you would want to go there, are very good.

The guide, regrettably, overlooked the town of Narita, which, 40 miles away from Tokyo, is so much more than the location of Narita international airport, although the giant Tokyo is just too close and is steeling its thunder. Most of the other guides have a good description of the town and Narita has a good tourist office.

I found descriptions of restaurants good, but maybe too heavily biased towards foreign cuisine (why would anyone eat foreign food when visiting Japan, a paradise of gourmet adventures both cheap and expensive, is anybody's guess).

Hotel descriptions, I thought, were really among the most accurate. I have stayed in quite a few places in Tokyo and upon checking my experiences against this guide, I would say it is very reliable.

If you're only going to visit Tokyo, this is the natural choice. If you are touring Japan and have an all-country guide, this is still a book that you will not regret buying.

I did my research for months before going to Tokyo in August 2004. My boyfriend and I are non-Japanese speakers, and we did the travelling sans-tour-guides. I leafed through quite a few guides before picking out Lonely Planet-Japan and Timeout-Tokyo. Since I only stayed in Tokyo for two weeks, I heavily relied on the Timeout guide. It made for a wonderful, comprehensive experience. I left only 14 days later feeling like I have not missed anything major (something very hard to do in Tokyo, be prepared to be exhausted).

The out of town trip to Kamakura was very worthwhile, as well as many other recommended sites from the book. Navigating the subway and train lines are made easier with the maps in the back (however, I highly recommend getting a Tokyo city atlas--the bilingual one is probably best) From sights to directions, mostly everything is outlined. The city walks in the book are delightful and clear. The formating is also very easy to read. In the back of the book are useful information concerning phone cards, post-office, etc. You should read this if you need to do any communication outside of Japan. I wasted $15 on a phone card that did not allow international calls.

Some negatives: limited hotel recommendations. I highly recommend Toyoko Inn (toyoko-inn.com) if you are on a budget. In Shinjuku, Kabuki-cho, there are western double-occupancy rooms for less than 100 dollars a night. Otherwise, the hotels in the book are a little more expensive than what you can find, if you do your homework. Research online. Also, make sure to call the restaurants ahead of time. Places in Tokyo are almost impossible to find sometimes. They also have odd closing hours. Some restaurants recommended in the Timeout Guide no longer exist. Also needs to have a section on peculiar customs (ticket-machine restaurants, etiquette, etc).

But basically, if you just want to do the main attractions plus some local stuff, this guide is probably your best bet. Again, get a street atlas and a basic dictionary, you will need it if you are not travelling with a tour group.

Good luck! Tokyo will be a great adventure if you are prepared. I can't wait to go back.